Donovan Stanford
Abstract Expressionism (Contemporary)
I was born in the coastal town of East London, South Africa, where I spent much of my childhood surfing. Those early experiences fostered a deep connection to the ocean and the elements, something that continues to shape the way I see and interpret the natural world. I now work as a mixed-media contemporary artist based in Dorset, United Kingdom. After completing my Diploma in Fine Art, I opened my own retail gallery and studio space in Cape Town, where I developed the instinctive, physical process that defines my practice today. I specialise in acrylic and oil on canvas creating large-scale, moody landscapes and seascapes. My paintings often feature expansive skies, arid vistas, and windswept, untamed coastlines, all infused with a strong emotional undercurrent. My approach centres on capturing the essence of a place rather than its literal form. I build my surfaces through dripping, pouring, scraping, spraying, and wiping, techniques that create movement, texture, and a sense of immediacy. I’m especially drawn to the fundamental forces of nature: the sound of the wind, the darkness of a storm, the cold spray off a wave. These sensory impressions guide both my palette and my mark-making. This philosophy is particularly evident in my Frigid Warmth series. In this collection, I explore my fascination with the cold, wet, barren, windswept landscapes of England and finding unexpected beauty in their starkness and solitude. From my Dorset studio, I continue to explore the emotional and elemental forces of landscape through abstraction, and letting memory, material, and the natural world guide each piece.
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: donovanstanford.co.uk